Automatic train-stop.



R. T. POPLIN & W. F. FERGUSON.

' AUIOMATIC. TRAIN STOP. APP |cAnou r1150 JULY 3. 1915.

Patented Feb. 15, 191

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT T. POPLIN AND WILLIAM F. FERGUSON, OF BUTTERFIELD, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN-STOP.

Application filed July 3, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Ronnlrr T. PoPLiN and WILLIAM F. FnnoUsoN, citizensof the United States, residing at Butterfield, in the county of Barryand State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Automatic Train-Stops, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to automatic devices for stopping trains,andparticularly to means for stopping trains in case of derailment.

Under the present system, when trains are derailed. the train runsforward over the ties, tearing up the track with dragging trucks untilthe train turns over or until the train line comes apart or becomesotherwise disconnected.

The primary object of our invention is to provide means forautomatically venting the air of the train pipe in case of derailment orin case of the breaking of a truck or axle beneath the car so that thecar drops,

and in this connection to provide a vent valve actuating member which isyieldably supported beneath the car in position to he engaged by therails of a track when either the car derailed or the truck breaks, thisvent valve actuating member being yieldably supported as above describedso that under these circumstances it will move upward and open a ventvalve in the train pipe, immediately applying the brakesan the samemanner as brakes are applied when an air hose bursts.

A further ooject of the invention is to so construct the vent valveactuating member that it will be sure to be actuated upon the derailmentor dropping of a car, and further so construct it that the connection tothe vent valve may be readily adjusted so that it may correspond to thedifferent positions of the air line of different cars.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a fragmentary diagrainnmtic end elevation of a car showingour invention applied thereto, the rails upon which Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

Serial No. 37,907.

the car runs being in section; Fig. 2 is a like view to Fig. 1 butshowing the wheels derailed and showing the operation of the trainstopping device; Fig. 3 is anenlarged sectional view of the lower end ofdue of the hangers showing the manner in which the valve actuatingmember is supported; and Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the valve.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a railway car of any suitableconstruction, and B the rails upon which the car runs. Mounted upon theunder side of the car and bolted to the sills or bottom of the car inany suitable manner are the depending hangers 2. These hangers areapproxi mately U-shaped in the'preferable form of our invention, and thelegs at the lower ends of the hangers extend parallel to each other acertain distance, as to a point 3, and then diverge upward and outwardand at their upper ends are flanged at 4 for the attachment to thebottom of the car.

Disposed in the lower ends of the hangers 2 and supported between theparallel portions of the legs thereof for vertical movement is a valveactuating member 5 having the form of a bar extending transversely ofthe car. The bar 5 is supported by these hangers at a height from threeto six inches above the track rails, and extends transversely across thetrack and beyond the rails. Preferably disposed between the legs of eachhanger just below the point 3 is a filling piece (3 which is illustratedas bolted to the hangers by means of a bolt 7, and disposed between thisfilling piece and the bar 5 is a coiled spring 8 which resists anyupward movement of the bar relative to the hangers. This coiled springmay be supported in any suitable manner, but as illustrated a dependingpin 9 is formed upon the filling piece (3 and extends through an opening10 in the bar 5. These pins supporti'he spr ngs S from detachment, butany other suitable means for supporting the springs may be provided.

Disposed beneath the car in the usual or ordinary manner is a train pipe11 which forms part of the air brake system. This train pipe isconventionally shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and inasmuch as the construction,

movement, means yielilingly resisting the vertical movement of the car,and means connecting the bar to the Vent valve comprising a turn buckleand rods engaged by the turn buckle and respectively with the bar andvent valve.

In testimony whereof We hereunto aflix our signatures in the presence oftwo Witnesses.

ROBERT 'l. POPLIN. WILLIAM F. FERGUSON. Witnesses:

C. G. DYE, J. C. LOWE.

